BIRD BANDING

April 20, 2010

Alice Leurck photographed this Bald Eagle equipped with a transmitter at Bergen County's Overpeck Preserve this past weekend on a Bergen County Audubon Society field trip. It was either flying to or from the Meadowlands, we believe. :- )

According to Alice, Don Torino of BCAS e-mailed the state DEP; they responded that they don't think New Jersey has transmitters on Eagles, but they will check into this. Can anyone help? (Thanks, Alice!)

Gil Hawkins, executive director of the preserve, says this was the third instance of a Bald Eagle with a transmitter seen this year. Two eagles with transmitters were seen flying together.

The New York State DEC has an eagle/transmitter program. (Link is here.) We have contacted them as well.

November 09, 2009

In September and October, NJMC
Naturalist Michael Newhouse and his dedicated band of bird-banders
banded 46 species and nearly 3,000
birds in all.

Bird most likely to be banded -- the Savannah Sparrow, with more than 700 banded. It is a threatened species in New Jersey. (Pictured at right, a confusing Black-throated Blue Warbler, one of the 46 species.)

For a look at the variety of birds that use the former landfills in the Meadowlands each fall, check out the full list of banded birds.

October 08, 2009

NJMC naturalist Mike Newhouse and a small bunch of great volunteers have been busy banding birds on or near the closed Erie Landfill as part of a larger research project aimed at creating more habitat for threatened and endangered avian species.

One of the stars of September: the threatened Savannah Sparrow (above). More than 150 were banded last month. We also banded 50 Indigo Buntings.

Many of our Tuesday Teaser close-up photos were taken of these banded birds.

September 24, 2009

As part of our Tuesday bird walk, we stopped by the Erie Landfill in North Arlington to watch NJMC naturalist Mike Newhouse band birds as part of a research project to see how birds use landfills during migration.

The Meadowlands Commission is especially interested in creating new habitat for endangered and threatened species.

Mike banded one of the target birds, a Savannah Sparrow, on Tuesday.

In the accompanying photos, taken by James B. Kuehlke, a friend of this blog, a banded Black-and-white Warbler is released. (Thanks, Jim!)

February 26, 2009

While at Harrier Meadow on Wednesday, we saw this Northern Mockingbird taking a drink from one of the ponds. we thought we detected a band on its right leg.
Sure enough, an enlargement of his right foot showed that it was banded -- most likely one of the mockingbirds that we banded last year. Some of our banded birds have migrated thousands of miles. Others, like this mocker (and several of his buddies), have stayed around here all along.

Here's the top of an article on the bird-banding in this week's Leader:

By Alexis TarraziSenior Reporter

NORTH ARLINGTON (Dec. 4, 2008) — In an effort to determine just how many migratory birds utilize and rely upon the Meadowlands landfills as a resting location, naturalists with the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission conducted their first-ever expansive study at the Erie landfill in North Arlington in the spring and fall of this year.

“As the environmental stewards of the region, we are putting old landfills to new uses,” stated Robert Ceberio, NJMC executive director in a press release. “We not only are capping and closing those landfills, but we are also making the most of them — whether it’s installing solar panels or helping migratory and threatened species.”

Naturalists were able to weigh, measure and band a total of 4,032 birds, including 23 species of warblers and 583 Savannah Sparrows -— a threatened species in New Jersey. In all, 88 species of birds were recorded, including five birds on New Jersey’s threatened, endangered or special-concern lists — the American Kestrel, Savannah Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow and Bobolink, according to a press release.

November 28, 2008

The Record's Jim O'Neill did a story on the Meadowlands Commission's bird-banding study today. If you've been to the Meadowlands Festival of Birding or a weekday Harrier Meadow walk, you may have seen a bird-banding demonstration by the NJMC's Mike Newhouse and Erica Mueller. This story gives you a great overture of the entire study. Read it here.

October 24, 2008

This week Meadowlands Commission naturalists banded 295 birds in North Arlington, including 27 Ruby-crowned Kingletsand 107 Savannah Sparrows -- a threatened species in New Jersey and a bird we
at the Meadowlands Commission are especially interested in.

October 20, 2008

Last week was another amazing week for bird-banding in North Arlington, with 574 birds banded -- including more than 150 Savannah Sparrows -- a threatened species in New Jersey and a bird we at the Meadowlands Commission are especially interested in.

September 26, 2008

NJMC naturalists are conducting a study to see what kinds of habitats should be created on the Meadowlands’ landfills to attract a greater diversity
of migrating birds and to provide nesting habitat for threatened or endangered grasslands species, such as Savannah Sparrows and Grasshopper Sparrows.

As part of the study, Meadowlands Commission naturalists have been mist-netting birds on the Erie Landfill in North Arlington, banding them
and recording their vital statistics, and then releasing them.

We will post the bird data for the week here
on Fridays through early November whenever possible.